役

yì
#1,243 most
frequent character
forced labor, corvée, obligatory task

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

役 first showed a person, now written 彳, beside 殳, a hand gripping a staff-like weapon. That picture of force gave the meaning to enslave or work an animal. From there the sense became obligatory service.

Drawn as: person beside a weapon

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Homophones

HSK 4
亿yì
a hundred million, calculate
HSK 6
亦yì
also
益yì
benefit, profit, advantage
忆yì
to recollect, to remember, memory
抑yì
to restrain, to restrict, to keep down
意yì
idea, meaning, thought, to think

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